James Corden has only been hosting “The Late Late Show” for four months, but that didn’t stop him from throwing an extravaganza Thursday night to commemorate his 50th episode.

Corden, poking fun at the formulaic anniversary shows that seem to dominate the TV landscape, went all out for his own celebration. He dressed to the nines in white tie and tails, and had a special hashtag created for the event (#ThanksJames50). But Corden was also overcome with emotion as he tried to make it through the show without crying. Luckily for the British host, Adam Lambert was already in the studio, scheduled to perform the track “Ghost Town” off his third album, “The Original High” (which he did later in the show – video below). Read More »

Queen is returning this fall with “Queen Forever,” an all new collection of some of their best work. And to get fans who might have all the versions of “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” they’ll ever need, the set comes with three new recordings, including a Freddie Mercury/Michael Jackon duet “There Must Be More to Life Than This,” a track from 1984′s “The Works” sessions called “Let Me In Your Heart Again,” and a new version Mercury’s “Love Kills.”

Two different sets will be available: a 20-track, single CD and a 36-track, double CD.

Fans have known about the Mercury-Jackson sessions for years and Mercury released a solo version of the tune on his 1985 album “Mr. Bad Guy.” Electronic musician William Orbit recently came in to finish it off. “When I first played it in my studio I opened a trove of delights provided by the greatest of musicians,” Orbit said in a release.” Hearing Michael Jackson’s vocals was stirring. So vivid, so cool, and poignant, it was like he was in the studio singing live. With Freddie’s vocal solo on the mixing desk, my appreciation for his gift was taken to an even higher level.” Read More »

Queen’s 1975 single “Bohemian Rhapsody” took three weeks to record in four different studios, was at the time reportedly the most expensive song every recorded and reached the top 10 on pop charts in 11 countries, despite clocking in at just shy of 6 minutes — epic, in every sense.

“It’s one of the strangest hit singles of all time,” Ben Elton, lyricist and director of the Queen musical “We Will Rock You,” says in a “webisode” premiering today on Speakeasy, previewing the coming U.S. tour of the stage production.

Elton and Queen musicians Brian May and Roger Taylor, who serve as musical supervisors for the show, talk about the making of the song, and how the new musical production accomplishes something even Queen never did: a full live performance of the song, which was too complex for the band to manage onstage.

“It’s all real,” Taylor says. “It’s one of the key moments of the evening.”

“We Will Rock You,” which features 24 Queen songs, has run for 12 years in London’s West End. The show makes its U.S. tour debut Oct. 15 in Baltimore, which is the start of a 25-city run that carries through August 2014. Watch the webisode below. Read More »

In April, 12-year-old Torontonian Jorel Hoffert is poised to cross the threshold to manhood — and to announce this signal event, he conscripted his parents and grandparents to make a truly mind-blowing video invitation, which has to be seen to be believed (and beloved).

The video features young Hoffert throwing down serious East-West swag: Crooning a reskinned “Bohemian Rhapsody,” showing off serious air-guitar and actual-piano chops, and finishing off with an epic Gangnam-style finale. And the lyrics are hilarious, with lines like “I’m half a Jew/Learned Hebrew/I’m half Asian and proud of that too.” Over-the-top bar mitzvah videos have become a thing (see: Shaun Sperling, Daniel Blumen), but this one should have ended with a mic drop.

“We were just trying to do something fun and different,” says Jorel’s father, David Hoffert. “So we thought, ‘Hey, let’s make the invitation a music video, no one’s ever done that before!’ How little we knew.”

Freddie Mercury. There really was no one like him. As the front man of the iconic band Queen, he was the voice, the face, and the master showman, blazing a melodic trail of music and unity on a worldwide scale. Together with Queen, the late, great Mercury blessed us with songs that have become sporting anthems (“We Are the Champions”) and satirical riffs in films like “Wayne’s World” (“Bohemian Rhapsody”).

This week, Roger Taylor of Queen launched a North American talent search offering vocalists and musicians alike an opportunity to star in “The Queen Extravaganza” – a live touring band that will pay tribute to the songs and vision of the original band. Of course, tribute bands are a dime a dozen – you can find them in any bar on a Tuesday night across America – but rarely are they backed by the original group. Thus far, uploaded auditions have been sparse – as of this writing there were no more than 20 in all categories – lead vocals, drums, etc. Read More »

Wall Street Journal reporter Lee Hawkins recently took one of his “WalkAbout NY” tours with Matt Burgess, a young novelist whose debut, “Dogfight,” is set in Jackson Heights, Queens, the neighborhood where the author grew up. The novel, which follows two rival brothers involved in low-level drug dealing, is drawing positive reviews and making an argument for Queens, long overshadowed by Brooklyn, to have a stronger toehold on the literary map. Burgess now lives in Minneapolis, but he returned to tour his old neighborhood with the Journal. Watch the video.

Despite his Ph.D. and scholarly authorship, Brian May’s rock and roll is thankfully still intact.

During a recent lecture at the Leonard Nimoy Event Horizon Auditorium at the Los Angeles Griffith Observatory, May — the former Queen lead guitarist turned lettered astrophysicist – walked on stage wearing a black coat, tails and white sneakers, signature curly mop sitting atop his head. His appearance pleased the many Queen fans in the audience.

Day was joined onstage by Elena Vidal, the co-author of “A Village Lost and Found,” his book on Stereoscopy. (The title refers to the village scenes depicted in the stereo cards of 19th century photographer T.R. Williams.) Read More »

Capitalizing on media-business synergies can be tricky, no matter how evident the benefits appear on paper. Just ask Jerry Levin and Steve Case.

But while the world waits to see whether Comcast’s just-inked deal for NBC Universal proves to be more than Son of AOL Time Warner, Walt Disney Co. has quietly found a way to inject a little cooperation into its operations—combining two of its most iconic, if culturally disparate, properties: the Muppets and Queen.

The Burbank, Calif., entertainment giant bought the Muppets from the Jim Henson Co. in 2004, and now it is in the process of relaunching the fuzzy-puppet franchise in the run up to a coming feature film (release date TBA). As part of that process, the company created a clip of Animal, Gonzo, and other Henson-created favorites doing a Muppetized rendition of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” video. Since it was posted on YouTube on Nov. 23, it’s become a viral sensation, with more than 8.8 million views. (The Muppets also recently got Facebook and Twitter pages.)

But it wasn’t just the over-the-top music and visuals that made for a perfect match between performers and material–there was also the commercial interests of their common corporate parents to consider. Disney’s Hollywood Records has owned the U.S. distribution rights to Queen’s catalog since 1991.

You can see the video for “The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody” after the jump. Read More »

Two weeks ago, actress and singer Patti LuPone grabbed a cell phone out of the hand of an audience member who was texting during a performance of her current play, "Shows for Days." The bold move led to an outpouring of support from fans fed up with glowing screens. Ms. LuPone gives us her five rules of theater etiquette.